Green Lentil Soup

In many cuisines of the world, lentils are one of the most sought after products. Our ancestors also treated her with respect. The first dishes from it often appeared on the table in families with very different incomes. The taste of lentil soup is not familiar to every one of our contemporaries, but people who strive for a healthy diet, who follow a diet or adhere to the principles of a healthy diet, prepare it quite often. For cooking first courses, you can use almost all varieties of beans. Green lentil soup is prepared not very quickly, but it turns out rich and tasty. These beans go well with meat, chicken, a variety of vegetables and even some cereals, which allows to diversify the menu significantly. The knowledge of recipes of lentil soups is especially useful for those who do not eat meat, at all or during fasting, as the above-mentioned product contains a significant amount of protein needed by the human body.

Cooking Features

Even a beginning hostess will be able to cook green lentil soup. The result will not disappoint her if she knows and observes several important points.

Lentils before use must be bruised, removed husks, pebbles and other small litter, and also washed in running water.
Lentils can be cooked without soaking, but still it is better to keep it in cool water for at least 3 hours before cooking the soup and rinse again. This will not only shorten the preparation time of the beans, but will also save them from substances that can cause indigestion and increased flatulence in the intestines.
Cooking time for lentils depends on its grade. In the soup, it should be soft, especially when it comes to soup puree. In the usual soup (in the form of soup) green lentils are cooked for 40-45 minutes. If you want to cook the cream soup, the preparation time of the beans is advisable to increase by 10-15 minutes.
The order in which foods are cooked while cooking soup depends on the time required to make them. Usually, green lentils are laid before vegetables, but later than meat, from which the broth is boiled.

There are many variations of the first courses in which the main ingredient is green lentils. The technology of cooking these soups may be different. To avoid mistakes and get the expected result, you must follow the recommendations that accompany a specific recipe.

A simple recipe for green lentil soup

Composition:

green lentils - 0, 2 kg;
potatoes - 0, 4 kg;
carrots - 100 g;
onions - 100 g;
water - 1, 5-2 l;
zira, salt - to taste;
refined vegetable oil - 50 ml;
lemon - 1 pc.

Method of preparation:

Rinse lentils, cover with water. Leave in a cool place for the night.
Rinse the lentils again, put them in a saucepan. Fill with clean water.
On medium heat, bring the contents of the pan to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, removing the foam protruding on the surface. Reduce heat and continue boiling for 15–20 minutes until the rest of the products are ready for laying the soup.
Wash potatoes, peel, cut into cubes about 1 cm in size.
Scrape, wash carrots. Drain it with a napkin and chop on a grater with large holes.
Free from the husks and cut the onion into small cubes.
Heat oil in a pan, put onions and carrots in it, fry them until soft.
After the above time, add the potatoes to the lentil pan, after another 10 minutes, add the vegetable frying. Continue cooking soup for 10 minutes.
5 minutes prior to the readiness of the food, salt it, add cumin and squeezed lemon juice, mix. At the same stage, you can add fresh greens chopped with a knife.

If there is no time for roasting vegetables or you prefer soups without cooking, you should add carrots and onions to the soup 5-10 minutes before the potatoes, and add oil at the last stage of cooking.

Lean green lentil soup

Composition:

green lentils - 0, 2 kg;
potatoes - 0, 3 kg;
carrots - 150 g;
broccoli - 0, 2 kg;
zucchini - 0, 2 kg;
Bulgarian pepper - 0, 25 kg;
onions - 100 g;
fresh greens - to taste;
salt, spices - to taste;
refined vegetable oil - 40 ml;
water - 3 l.

Method of preparation:

Lentils, after sorting and washing, soak for a few hours in cool water.
Wash vegetables. Let them dry.
Broccoli disassemble into inflorescences. Cut into large florets into several pieces.
Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes of about 1 cm.
Cut the zucchini in the same cubes. If you have a large vegetable, you must first remove it from coarse skin and large seeds.
Peel the onion, cut into small cubes.
Peel the carrots and cut them into pea-sized cubes.
Pepper seeds are removed, at the same time removing the stem. Pepper pulp cut into small squares.
Heat oil in a pan, put onion in it, fry it until golden brown.
Place carrots on the onion, fry the vegetables together for 7-8 minutes.
Boil water in a saucepan. Wash the lentils and add to the pan.
15 minutes after re-boiling water in a saucepan, add potatoes, 10 minutes after potatoes, add carrots with onions. After 5 minutes, add the remaining vegetables and salt.
Continue cooking the soup for 15 minutes. 5 minutes before it is ready, add spices and fresh herbs.

Vegetable soup with lentils is tasty and nourishing, rich in vitamins and other beneficial substances. Such food will help to stay in good shape even during fasting. Vegetarians will also like this dish.